Show E 1 T 0 R Y 0 0 0 LU I 1 L I 1 S A I 1 L L BY JACQUES by M KETTNER cop copyright 1908 by the associated sun sunday UW byrhe by the dobbs bobbs merrill aa company 7 SYNOPSIS count dl rosint the italian ambassador is at dinner with diplomats in tho the national capital when a messenger brings brines a note directing him to come to the embassy at once hero a beautiful young woman asks that at she be given a ticket to the embassy ball the ticket is made out in the name of miss isabel thorne chief campbell of tile the secret ecret service and mr grigun his head detective detective are warned that a plot of the latin races against the english speaking races Is br brewing wang in washington and grimm goes to the state ball for information in a conservatory ills his attention Is called to miss isabel thorne who rth with her corn companion panion soon disappears ears A revolver shot is heard and campbell ampbell and grimm hasten down the hall a to find that senor alvarez of the mexican 6 can legation has been shot A woman an did it and grimm is assured it was miss thorne ho he visits her demanding knowledge of tile the affair and there arrests a man named pietro Potro miss thorne visits an old apparently a bomb maker and they speak of experiment d CHAPTER VI VIII I 1 I 1 continued simultaneously the front door of the house aa on the corner where hastings biad been hiding and the front door of the house near the corner where where blair had been hiding opened and two heads peered 1 put 0 it is As the c car ar ap approached hastings hiding place he be withdrew into the hallway but blair came out and hurried past the 16 legation gation in the direction of the rapidly disappearing motor hastings joined him they spoke together then turned the corner carner it was about ten that night when hastings reported to mr campbell at his home we followed the car in a rented automobile from the time it turned the corner comer out through alexandria and along the old baltimore road into the city of baltimore 1 he explained it was dark by the time totne we reached alexandria but we stuck to the car ahead without lights until we came in sight of druid hill park and then we haa ha to 0 show lights or be held up we covered those forty miles going in less than two hours after the car passed druid hill lt it slowed up a little and ran oft off the turnpike into north avenue then into north nort h charles street and slowly along that as if they were looking for a number at last it stopped and miss thorne got put out wid arid entered a house she was gone for more than halt an hour leaving mr cadwallader with we the car while she was gone I 1 made some inquiries and learned that the house was occupied by a mr thomas Q griswold I 1 dont know anything elso elsa about him plair blair may have learned something know now comes the curious part of it and hastings looked a little sheepish when miss thorne came out of the house she was not miss thorne thome at all when she was senorita inez rodal rodriguez guez daughter of the venezuelan minister sh she 9 wore the same clothing g miss thorne had worn going but her veil was lifted veiled and all mum muffled e d up p one would have taken oath itow itwara the liaf v i c i i clr camet apman she and ciet cadwallader are am back in washington koiv now ai or are comma thata SM except blair is still in baltimore awaiting ord orders ers I 1 caught the train from atom the charles street station and came back johnson aou you know w yea ive seen so e n Job Jo tinson interrupted campbell are aie you absolu absolutely tela positive that the woman you saw sa get into the automobile with mr mn cadwal aa lader was miss thorne thorbet Th orneT absolutely replied hastings etli out hesitation I 1 1 I saw her r in her ner awn own room witcher with t her wraps oh her come down and get into thie the ca car 4 all said the clief clinef goodnight for or an hour or more he sat in a great comfortable cha chair ir in ithe e ing room of his own home the guileless blue eyes eyed vacant staring and spidery lines in the benevolent forehead head on tiro the morning of the fie second cond 67 lay i I 1 following senor rodriguez ez the minister 1 1 from froia venezuela reported report ad ito 1 tha secret service bureau afie disappearance j of fifty thousand dollars in jod gold from roina a sate safe in his private office at the legation CHAPTER IX fifty thousand dollars y mr air campbell was talking 7 for or several months past ho he said gaid the international investment IC company om through its representative mr cressy has been secretly negotiating i with senor rodriguez for certain n asphalt properties in venezuela three days ago these negotiations were successfully cessa cess ully fully concluded and yesterday afternoon mr cressy in secret paid to senor rodriguez fifty thousand dollars in american gold the first of adi four payments of similar sums th this is gold wasco was to have been shipped to ahli philadelphia adelphia la by express today to day to catch a 8 steamer for venezuela mr grimm nodded the fact that thai this gold was in senor possession po could not hot 1 have been known to more than half alf a dozen persons as the negotiations throughout have been lif in strict secrecy andar and mr jC campbell ampbell smiled sm aled beno 11 11 jill one not a soul in th this Is louse house l ouse except M myself knew it was here so much now senor rodriguez has lids just telephoned asking that I 1 send a man to the legation at once the gold was kept there over night or perhaps I 1 should say that the senor hi intended tended to keep it there over ov er night mr campbell Camp boll stared armr at mr grimm for a moment then miss thorne thorn e you know is a guest at the legat legation iob that is why I 1 am referring the matter to you 1 I understand said mr grimm and ten minutes manubi s later mr grimm presented himsel to senor rodriguez senor he inquired placidly agaty fifty thousand dollars lu in gold would weigh nearly two hundred pounds it senor rodriguez stared at him blankly si senor he agreed absently an and then in english yes I 1 shou should ld iv ian I 1 agine so atwell wad all of bf it if stolen or only Y a pari of ar ff mr 36 grimm went an on f iv i V i r A i v the t mi minister gazed fi nto into tho the its list aides loes eyes for a time then apparently be wil deredA talked Ival ked forth and back across the ibb froom again finally he sat down all ali of at it he be admitted 1 I cant un der stand IL it no one not a soul in this house except myself knew it was here bere in addition to this weight ot at say ny two hundred pounds fifty thousand dollars would make considerable bulk mused mr grimm very well Ther therefore eiore it would appear t that bat the pers person on or persons person so who got it must have bave gone away from here heavily laden jaden sen senor or rodriguez nodded A and nd now senor mr grimm con linued it if you will kindly state the circumstances immediately preceding and following the theft A slight frown which had been growing upon the smooth brow of the diplomatist was instantly dissipated the money fifty thousand dollars in gold edin coin was paid to me yesterday Uter afternoon noon about four he began slowly in explanation 44 by mr cressy of the international investment company supplemented mr grimm yes go on the diplomatist favored tho the young man with one sharp inquiring glance an 4 continued I 1 the gentleman who paid the money remained here from four until nine while I 1 personally perio nally counted it As I 1 counted it I 1 placed it in canvas bags and when he had gone I 1 took these bags from this room into that he indicated a closed door to his right ti and personally stowed them away in the safe I 1 closed and locked the door of the safe myself I 1 know that it was looked locked and thaws all except this morning the money was gone safe blo blown w ott inquired ingul re d me mr grimm I 1 no senor exclaimed the diplomatist with sudden violence no the safe was not blown it was closed and locked exactly as aa ahad I 1 had left lef it it mr grimm was idly twisting the seal on his little finger just as I 1 left it iti senor rodriguez repeated excitedly last night after I 1 locked the safe door I 1 tried fried it to make certain cerad in that it was locked I 1 I 1 bapp happened ened to notice then that the pointer on the dial had stopped precisely at number forty five this ii morning orning when I 1 unlocked the safe anat and of course I 1 know then ten that the money had been taken the pointer ei was as still at number forty five he paused with one hand in the air mr i grimm continued to twist the seal r ring ig i it was all like like some trick on i the ho stage the minister went ent on 0 1 me magi magicians clans disappearing lady or or I 1 it was wag as though I 1 had not puttee kibb money into the safe at all aiu did you inquired mr grimm am amiably 6 dia I 1 blazed senor rodriguez why senor I 1 I 1 did I 1 he concluded 11 meekly ae aily 4 mr grimm believed him who else knows the combination of the afe safe he queried no 9 one senor not a living soul your secretary for instance stancer In I 1 not even my secretary some servant some member of 7 retell t ell you senor not one person perso n in all the world knew that combination V bac except opt myself senor rodriguez insisted your secretary secret afy a servant some member of your family might have se enyou unlock the safe some time and thus learned oe he combination senor rodriguez did not quite q bite know whether to be annoyed at mr grimms persistence kence or to admire the tenacity wi with th which he hold held to this one point d you must understand senor grimm that many state documents are kept in the safe he said finally therefore it is not advisable that any one should know the combination I 1 have made itan it an abbo absolute lute nile as aa did my predecessors here never to unlock the safe in the presence of ah another person state documents document sl mr grimms lips silently repeated the words then tafu a aloud d perhaps theres a record of f the combination somewhere it if you adu had died suddenly for instance iastan ce I 1 how would the safe have been opened there would have been only one way senor blow alft it open there tere is ia no record 11 well if we accept all that as a 8 true 11 observed mr air grimm musingly if 1 would seen seem that you either pa money into the safe at all or please sit down theres nothing per bonal in this or else the money waif nyan taken out of the safe without it being unlocked this last would have beena miracle and this Is not the day of miracles therefore mr grimms well modulated voleca trailed off into silence senor A odai g guez came to his bis feet with a blaze of anger in his eyes mr grimm was watching him curiously 1 I understand senor said the ister deliberately that you believe that I 1 I 1 1 I believe that you have told the truth interrupted interrupt ea eu mr grimm placidly that is the truth so far as you know it but you have stated i 0 one ng thing in error somebody besides Y your ou r 1 self does know the combination senor rodriguez drew a deep breatha breata of relief the implied accusation ha baa been withdrawn as pleasantly an and frankly as it had been put forward 1 T I ran across a chap in new york once for instance mr grimm the trouble to explain who could ui ud lock any safe that Is any safe of the kind used at that time twelve or oil fourteen years year ago a so you see e ai T dou doubt bt if he would be so successful with the new models with all improvements but then 1 you know kno he would have bave made an ideal bur burglar glai that chap now senor who alveshere Ilves here in the legation with you my secretary senor diaz adlaz ma daughter inez and just at the moment mento a miss thorne miss s isabel thorne the senor informed hiter also four servants twomey two men and tac I 1 women ave ive had the pleasure A of if meeting your dau daughter 9 liter and midd thorae Tho rhe mr G grimm 1 informed him wow now suppose we take a look at the safe certainly senor started toward the closed door just as there came a tim id knock from the hall ball he glance glanced tf at mr grimm who nodded then ic h called come binl in the door opened and miss thornty Thorn tJ entered she was cladin clad in some bomb filmy gossamer like morning gown with heis hea radiant hair caught upon her white neck at sight of mr grimm the blue gray eyes opened as ife if surprises and she paused irresolutely 1 I beg your pardon senor sav said addressing the diplomatist did not know you were engaged an anit mr grimm she extended a slim white hand and the young man bowel low over it we are old friends she explained smilingly to the minister then 1 I think I 1 must have dropped my handkerchief when I 1 was in ferij yesterday with inez perhaps yori found it sit si senorita replied senor n rod liguez gallantly it Is on my degli in here just a moment 1 he opened the do door orand and passed ingv int th the q adjoining room mr grimet eyes met I 1 those of miss isabel Thorne and there was no listlessness in then theil now only interest she smiled at hin him tauntingly and lowered her lids rodriguez appeared from the othey room with the handkerchief mil gracyas gra clas senor she thanked him no hay bay de que senorita he be returned as he opened the door for her bek monsieur grimm au revoir sho she dropped a little curtsey and still smil ing went out she is charming senor the diplo matist assured him enthusiastically albeit irrelevantly secir vivacity such personality such such shop she charming arming ell the safe please mr grimm re minded him TO BE CONTINUED TIT i S I 1 i tl |